Many consumer products such as cell phones, touch-screen displays, automobile door handles, etc., are subject to frequent contact with hands and fingers. As a result, the residue of fingerprints often leaves unpleasant marks on the surface deteriorating the cosmetic appearance of the products.
Prior art approaches aim to reduce the deposition of the fingerprint stains on a surface and facilitate its removal capitalize on the “lotus-effect” where hydrophobic, oleophobic and super-amphiphobic properties are conferred to the surface by polymeric coatings containing appropriate nanocomposites. An exemplary coating contains fluorine and silicon nanocomposites with good roll off properties and very high water and oil contact angles. When used on rough surfaces like sandblasted glass, nanocoatings may act as a filler to provide a fingerprint resistance. A drawback of these “passive” technologies is that they require water-rinsing to finally remove the fingerprints from the surface. In addition, these materials are not suitable for use in high gloss surfaces because the lotus-effect is based on surface roughness.
The photocatalyst Ti02 was used to promote active fingerprint decomposition of fingerprint stains in U.S. Pat. Appl. Publ. 2009/104086. A major drawback to this technology is its limitation to use on inorganic surfaces due to the oxidative impairment of the polymer coating by Ti02.
Therefore, there is a need for new materials or coatings that can actively promote the removal of fingerprints on organic surfaces or in organic coatings and minimize the requirement for maintenance cleaning.